kierstenlpeeples

I just want to remind you that that quote is only part of the actual cost. It may not include port charges, taxes, etc. It also won't cover on-board expenses like drinks, service charges (tips), photos, etc.

It actually does cover port charge and taxes. Just not on board expenses.

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Thank you everyone for all these wonderful tips! I am taking the time out to respond to everyone individually! If I haven't responded to you yet, I will be shortly. I want to get everyone's thoughts on this....

I actually took the advice of what most everyone was saying and contacted a travel agent. He was able to find me a 5 night cruise on Carnival Conquest with a balcony. For June 2 - June 7. It goes from Port Everglades, Florida to Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, and Nassau Bahamas, and then back to Port Everglades Florida. It's $1992.70 with travel insurance included. What does everyone think? Is this a good deal?

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Thank you everyone for all these wonderful tips! I am taking the time out to respond to everyone individually! If I haven't responded to you yet, I will be shortly. I want to get everyone's thoughts on this....

I actually took the advice of what most everyone was saying and contacted a travel agent. He was able to find me a 5 night cruise on Carnival Conquest with a balcony. For June 2 - June 7. It goes from Port Everglades, Florida to Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, and Nassau Bahamas, and then back to Port Everglades Florida. It's $1992.70 with travel insurance included. What does everyone think? Is this a good deal?

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Thank you everyone for all these wonderful tips! I am taking the time out to respond to everyone individually! If I haven't responded to you yet, I will be shortly. I want to get everyone's thoughts on this....

I actually took the advice of what most everyone is saying and contacted a travel agent. He was able to find me a 5 night cruise on Carnival Conquest with a balcony. For June 2 - June 7. It goes from Port Everglades, Florida to Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, and Nassau Bahamas, and then back to Port Everglades Florida. It's $1992.70 with travel insurance included. What does everyone think? Is this a good deal?

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Thank you everyone for all these wonderful tips! I am taking the time out to respond to everyone individually! If I haven't responded to you yet, I will be shortly. I want to get everyone's thoughts on this....

I actually took the advice of what most everyone is saying and contacted a travel agent. He was able to find me a 5 night cruise on Carnival Conquest with a balcony. For June 2 - June 7. It goes from Port Everglades, Florida to Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, and Nassau Bahamas, and then back to Port Everglades Florida. It's $1992.70 with travel insurance included. What does everyone think? Is this a good deal?

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Like was mentioned, the ships your named usually do seven days plus. Take a look at Liberty, you can do a four day on her. I have been on Vista and Breeze. I love Breeze, but Liberty is my current favorite.

Thank you for this tip! I will look into Liberty!

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Thank you everyone for all these wonderful tips! I am taking the time out to respond to everyone individually! If I haven't responded to you yet, I will be shortly. I want to get everyone's thoughts on this....

Your summer cruises will always be higher. We have a couple of teachers in our family, so our family cruise had to be after school is out. Big price difference, but we were able to book one at the tail end of May that was a little less than summer bookings. I'm guessing that not all schools are out at that time, so it was a tad cheaper going May 25 vs June 1. Would you consider a window as opposed to a balcony? It would give you the natural light, but not as pricey as a balcony.

Thank you so much for this tip! I truly want a balcony and so I am willing to pay more if necessary.

As others have mentioned, June or any other times schools are out, rates are going to be higher. You may want to check the Victory which has a 5 days itinerary out of Miami to Key West and Cozumel. That's a really nice graduation gift. Whichever cruise you decide upon ENJOY!

Thank you for this tip! I know so I truly hope he likes it!

If both are over 21 years-old, no need for the other to be over 25 years old.

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2544/kw/minimum%20age%20to%20cruise

 

And if married (not this case, I know), it appears neither need to be over 21.

Thank you for your concern! I was concerned as well and looked it up myself a while ago and found the same results. At the time of departure I will be 22 and my boyfriend will be 23.

You won't have any problems sailing on any of the ships that you posted. Sailing in June is more expensive than in the spring or fall. $1500 for a 5-day cruise shouldn't be a problem. Just remember that air fare, excursions, insurance (if purchased) and tips are extra. Have fun choosing a cruise and beware...you WILL become addicted to cruising!!!

 

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Hi there!

Thank you for responding to my post! I would like to get your thoughts on this ....

This seems like the best response so far.

 

With gratuities, taxes and port fees, probably looking at $1600 total.

 

I quickly looked at a 4-day out of Canaveral, and saw a balcony room for $1490 including taxes, port fees and gratuities.

 

Yes, you can find something in your price range, maybe a squidge more, with a balcony, not including excursions or drinks.

 

Drinks will add $50 per day, per person, if you go with Cheers! If you pay-as-you-drink, then, well, that's up to you!

I agree!

Hi there! I understand you said you would be interested in getting a balcony, but maybe try an interior room for your first cruise and then you could do more things, such as get a drink package, go on more excursions, get spa passes.

 

My husband and I took our honeymoon on the Vista and got an interior spa room (included spa passes for the ten days) and we loved it. This just may be more cost effective if you're trying to go at this time of year in that price range.

 

Whatever you choose will be a wonderful time! Enjoy!

Thank you for this! I will definitely take that into consideration!

Thank you for this tip! I will definitely check it out!

As others have mentioned, June or any other times schools are out, rates are going to be higher. You may want to check the Victory which has a 5 days itinerary out of Miami to Key West and Cozumel. That's a really nice graduation gift. Whichever cruise you decide upon ENJOY!

Thank you! I will defiantly check that one out!

The Liberty is a very nice ship and does 4 & 5 days to the Bahamas. I would check it out. Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

Thank you for this tip! I will definitely check it out!

The Liberty meets all of the OP's requirements.

 

-- It has a spa. (All Carnival ships do.)

-- It ha a comedy club. (All Carnival ships do.)

-- It has a casino. (All Carnival ships and almost every mainline cruise ship has a casino except Disney)

-- It has dive-in movies. --And this is important for the OP because the smaller Fantasy-class ships don't, and those ships are the ones that usually do shorter itineraries. Liberty is one of the few Conquest-class ships that runs shorter, less expensive itineraries.

 

OP, as an alternative if June prices are still too high, consider an oceanview. Cheaper than a balcony but you DO get a window...and Carnival's oceanview cabins, at 225 sq ft. average, are among the largest standard cabins on any mainstream line.

Thank you for this helpful tip!

Carnival's oceanview cabins, at 225 sq ft. average, are among the largest standard cabins on any mainstream line.

 

The Sunshine is one of the ships that have 220 sq ft OV cabins but most of the other ships are 185 sq ft just like the majority of the other regular type cabins (not suites or specialty cabins). The older ships may have even smaller OV's so make sure you check the cabin details on the ship you are looking at if the square footage is of importance to you.

Thank you for this helpful tip!

We haven't heard from the OP in a while, but a couple of us have shown that cruises at her price-point with the stated requirements are available.

 

So I am hoping she has found something and returned to lurk mode. It would be nice to know what she selected.

Hello!

I actually took the advice of what most everyone is saying and contacted a travel agent. I am getting close to finalizing my decision and I am pretty sure that I am going to go with one of the ones that he was able to find me. It is a 5 night cruise on Carnival Conquest with a balcony. For June 2 - June 7 It goes from Port Everglades, Florida to Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, and Nassau Bahamas, and then back to Port Everglades Florida. Its $1992.70 with travel insurance included. What do you think?

Hmm,

 

Looks like a bit of a stretch, but maybe there is a travel agent out there who has a helluva deal in their pocket.

 

I did a quick tour of the Carnival website, the itinerary I liked best given the parameters was a 5 day out of Miami that stoped in Ocho Rios & Grand Cayman. Balcony was $2,200 range but you could do an Ocean View for $1,600 ish. June 4-9.

 

June is a pretty popular month to hit the water so deals may be few and far between.

 

You could save more by going on a 3 day trip, but that is very quick and tends to attract a more, um, raucus crowd. Of course if you are looking for that, then maybe there is your ticket.

 

Other thoughts, that ticket to board buys you a lot, but you will have to budget a bit more for shore excursions, drinks, photos, etc, etc,. I'd probably have about $500 - 1,000 additional set aside for this.

 

Good luck, and have fun.

Thank you so much for this! I truly appreciate it! I got in touch with a travel agent and he was able to find me an excellent deal and exactly what I was looking for! Thank you again for your helpful tips! I will keep all of them in mind!

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Restricting your search can drive the cost up, especially for your first cruise of a week or less the ship really won't matter much.

 

 

 

 

This is the thing that is driving your cost up as June is a very expensive month to cruise. I understand you probably don't have any flexibility here, just thought I would point it out.

 

 

 

 

This is good, the majority of Carnival's sailings are from Florida.

 





Excellent, this will help you with cost and is a great attitude to have.

 

 

In 2016 I took 6 Carnival cruises in 1 year and many people asked me how I pulled it off so I made a video about it and the second half is all about how I afforded it so it may contain some useful info for you

 

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Wow! Thank you for taking the time out and writing all of this for me! I truly appreciate it! I will keep in mind all of your tips and I will also take time out to watch the video you shared. You have been so helpful!

Welcome to CC!

 

I highly recommend that you contact a Carnival PVP (personal vacation planner) or a travel agent who specializes in cruises.

 

June is one of the more expensive months to cruise unfortunately.

Thank you! I am happy to be here!

I have already contacted one! He has been very helpful! Thank you!

That is the same feedback I am getting from him. I might be changing dates. But we will see..

Thank you again for your help!

If Carnival is the cruise line you want I would do two things.

 

Start narrowing the list down based on the specific itinerary of each ship.

 

From there read the cruise member reviews to get a sense of those ships that get the best reviews.

 

Keith

Keith,

Thank you so much for this tip! I will definitely do that!

In short, you are not going to be able to check all your boxes. There is no way to shave $500 off a cruise.

 

You have 3 choices for staying within your budget: 1) cruise during the school year (school vacations are when most families cruise, greatly increasing demand), 2) compromise on the cabin and choose an Oceanview. You will get the same size/layout room without the balcony. You will spend very little time in the room so this might be the best thing to compromise on. 3) pick a shorter cruise; looks like the Victory has 4 day itineraries that will check all your other boxes.

 

Booking way in advance (1+ years) will get you the best price, but not the price you are looking for. You can get on board credit by owning 100 shares of CCL stock (I do this) but you need to have ~$7000 to invest to do this.

 

You may be able to get a bit of on board credit by booking with a TA but not more than $200 and probably closer to $50 (total), I don't have any referrals (nor are they allowed on cruise critic); I haven't actually used a TA.

 

Onboard credit wont lower the initial cost of your fare but will lower the out-the-door costs (there is a $12 per-person-per day service charge that goes to restaurant servers/housekeeping/etc.; plus drinks, etc.)

Thank you for this very helpful information! My boyfriend is big in the stock market and is all about it so I will definitely share the CCL stock information with him. Thank you again! I really appreciate you taking out the time to help me!

What a wonderful surprise for your boyfriend and special way of celebrating such an incredible accomplishment. I'm sure he'll love it and you'll have a wonderful time!

 

I haven't ever sailed Carnival so I am probably the worst person to give advice regarding the ship, but did want to make a comment about the balcony. On our first cruise we booked a balcony and it was very important to me to do so. I pictured us spending hours relaxing on the balcony sipping cocktails, spotting dolphins, etc. etc. While we did spend some time on it, I found that I enjoyed finding a nice spot on a deck somewhere and taking in "the scenery". Because of that we booked an ocean view cabin for our next cruise because we were trying to keep costs down and skipping the balcony saved us almost $1000. That said, my parents cruise often and would never cruise without a balcony.

 

It's also probably worth it to check out some of the larger travel agents that specialize in cruises. Unfortunately we cannot name any here. We were able to get a good deal with all sorts of perks that saved us quite a bit of money on-board by booking through an online travel agent. Once my parents found a good deal through an agent and called the cruise line to see if they would match. They matched the price AND gave them additional onboard credit in return for my parents booking directly with them, so keep that in mind as well.

 

I know this wasn't much help and for that I apologize, but I hope you find a wonderful cruise and have a great time!

This was more than enough! Thank you so much for all these wonderful tips! I truly appreciate it! I am nervous about him liking it. So thank you for the reassurance! I have contacted a travel agent. I am worried about them being credible and honest. Have you run into that problem - a travel agent that was not honest? Are you supposed to pay the travel agent directly for the cruise?

If price is your main concern, would you consider a different cruise line? You may get better deals from different providers.

 

Don't forget to factor all the other extras into your budget: cost of getting to the port, tips, excursions, drinks, souvenirs, etc.

Thank you for this wonderful advice! I will take that into consideration!